This invention relates to vehicle suspension systems, and in particular to racing cars, where it endeavors to continually provide the maximum possible cornering force by each tire.
In order to develop the maximum cornering force, each tire must obtain the maximum traction by obtaining the maximum tire-to-road contact area, and by having the maximum tire-to-road contact time and loading.
In the past, many attempts have been made to achieve a superior suspension system. There have been many designs of suspension layouts and geometries, aimed at obtaining the desired tire inclination or camber for each and every road and vehicle condition, in an effort to obtain the greatest contact area, allowing for tire distortion which occurs during cornering.
Also, there have been many designs of springing and damping systems that attempt to minimize the wheel bounce or vertical displacement, in an effort to achieve firm and continuous tire-to-road contact.
On a race track, there can be differences in camber, surface smoothness and adhesion between the various corners, and conditions can change significantly during a race due to surface damage, rubber and oil accumulation, and other causes. During a race, drivers may have to use different lanes through corners, in order to avoid other race cars, where the parameters affecting the vehicle handling are different. Also, during a race, the handling characteristics of a vehicle will change as the fuel load changes, when new tires are fitted, and if wear or damage to the tires or suspension occurs.
Clearly, a "fixed" suspension system, that is, one that does not compensate for all the variants, cannot possibly achieve the optimum road-holding, hence maximum cornering force.